Big Sur

It has taken me a little while to get through all the photos from our August California Trip and even longer to get final post put together. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite snaps from our time in Big Sur. We rented a convertible towards the start of our trip and drove to Napa & Sonoma from San Francisco (as you saw in my posts here, here and here). Afterwards we headed off to Big Sur and Lake Almanor to finish our trip.

Napa Day 2

Our second day in Napa we were up bright and early for our hot air balloon ride. Afterwards we went back to our hotel so that we could shower and get ready for a day of winery visits. We started at Nickel and Nickel, which was delightful. We were in a small group for our tour that brought us around the beautiful property and into their cellars and also taught us quite a lot about wine-growing. The tasting was great, in a beautiful sit-down setting. We couldn't resist picking up a bottle of our favorite wine to bring home.

Napa Day 1

Outfit 1 - Shirt : Urban Outfitters / Jeans : Rag & Bone / Shoes : Sam Edelman / Hat : NYC street purchase (similar) / Sunglasses : Urban Outfitters / Bag : Forever 21 (similar)

Outfit 2 - Romper : Loft (similar) / Jacket : Forever 21 (similar) / Shoes : Loeffler Randall / Sunglasses : Urban Outfitters

Napa has been on my list of places to visit for awhile now. When we first started planning this trip to Northern California there was no way we weren't going to make a Napa detour. I asked tons of friends for recommendations on where to eat, where to stay and most importantly which vineyards to visit before our visit. On the Monday morning of our trip we picked up our rented convertible and headed out of San Francisco to wine country.

Hot Air Ballooning in Napa

Going up in a hot air balloon has been on my bucket list for awhile. The idea of riding in a basket that is being carried by a big balloon is literally straight out of a children's book. When planning our Napa trip we learned that there are a number of ballooning companies that do sunrise trips over the vineyards, which sounded like an amazing experience. Never ones to shy away from a unique opportunity, we booked a flight for our second day in Napa.

San Francisco

We decided to take advantage of Labor Day Weekend this summer and plan a trip to the West Coast. We used San Francisco as our base - a few days in the city, then head to Napa & Big Sur and end with a weekend at a friend’s lake house. It was so nice to get away from the hot, humid weather in New York and explore some new cities and see some amazing natural landscapes. We started our trip with a weekend in San Francisco where we have many college friends currently residing.

Weekend in Burlington

This past weekend we headed up to Burlington, Vermont to spend a few days enjoying the lake, getting some sunshine and of course partaking in some local Vermont beers. It has become a tradition among the Farina siblings to attend the Vermont Brewer's Festival every year in Burlington. While we missed last year's event, this summer was still our 5th year attending the Brewfest with all us Farina kids. Not too shabby of a track record.

Let's Getaway To : Charlotte, NC

1. Sunglasses

2. Straw Hat

3. Shirtdress  

4. Striped Pullover

5. Jean Shorts

6. Embroidered Tank

7. Woven Clutch

 I'm traveling down to North Carolina this weekend to visit my parents and I am very much looking forward to the warm weather, lake views and southern hospitality. Their house is just outside Charlotte, near Lake Norman. They are right in Davidson, a cute college town full of charm. I am especially excited to just relax outside with a book and enjoy some family time. It's funny how much more you appreciate nature and being at home with family when you live in a city like New York. When we were down over Christmas my siblings, Jeff and I tried out some of the breweries near our house. This visit we are going to make a trip to Asheville, which I have heard great things about. I'm sure there will be pictures on my instagram!

Being down south makes we want to be a little preppier than normal, this weekend I'm packing nautical stripes, casual dresses, a classic straw hat and some tortoiseshell shades. Can't forget the staple denim shorts either!

What's everyone's weekend plans? Any trips?

Grey & White

 

On Friday morning last week we headed to the beach in Venice one last time for breakfast and to watch the surfers before hopping in our car to head to West Hollywood. The sun was peeking in and out of the clouds so rather than worry about being cold I went for jeans and my favorite Gap extra long cardigan (also seen in this post). I'm a big fan of white and grey outfits so I threw a simple grey tank on to tie it all together. Side note - some may find it 80's-esque but I love knotting my tees and tanks like this. Especially when the shirt is a little too long on me (which many are), it helps shorten the length and adds some interest with a nice drape. Give it try!

Venice Beach

We spent two nights in Venice to start off our long weekend in California. I had only been to Venice once before and it was just for the day, so I was excited to spend a little more time in the neighborhood. It also is close enough to Santa Monica that we could spend some time there as well.

Being in California, the first thing I noticed that was different than New York City were all the blooming flowers around. Since the warm weather has not been around too long in NYC we haven't had too much green pop up yet. But Venice was full of color and amazing floral smells wafting through the air just walking down the street. I especially loved how the bright red flowers in the image above popped against the white wall and wooden door. 

Let’s Getaway To : LA

I’m traveling to L.A. next week with my sister and have begun thinking about what I want to pack along. Since we will only be there a handful of days, I want my clothing options to be versatile and simple so that they can be paired together in multiple ways. A tip for packing no matter where you are going - stick to a cohesive color palette, that way you can easily mix and match what you brought without having to worry about items clashing. A few staples are on my list (denim shorts, leather tote bag, grey tank), as well as some warm-weather basics (panama hat, sunglasses, white eyelet). But I also had to throw in a few Cali-inspired items (palm tree clutch, placed floral blouse). 

When planning your wardrobe for any trip,considering the temperature and weather where you will be visiting is a must. But another thing you might want to consider is the personality of the city you will be in. When in Paris, for example, skinny cropped black pants and a striped shirt would suit you well or while in Miami you’ll probably want a handful of bright colors and whites in your suitcase. The same could be said of L.A. and it’s various neighborhoods, all with a California vibe yet still different personalities. I thought these unique California attitudes were a great starting point for my packing list. As you can see above I separated my clothing and accessories into possible outfits. Given the way all the items work together however, there are tons of outfit options just from this small set of pieces. Which means you can have a few outfit ideas planned ahead of time yet still see how you feel that day and go from there. *I have included a cleaner view of my list items at the end of the post for easy packing reference as well!

We will be spending a few days at the beach in Santa Monica and Venice, then heading to West Hollywood for the rest of trip. Visiting Rodeo Drive and checking out the Downtown scene are two plans on my trip itinerary. But the event I am most excited for is the reason I am going in the first place to L.A. - The Create and Cultivate conference! I am looking forward to learning a lot about being a creative individual in the digital world and how to improve Fizz and Fade for all of you! Plus speakers include the likes of Chelsea Handler, Rachel Zoe and Jessica Alba, so of course I am excited about that as well!

Follow me on Instagram (emilykfarina) to follow along with my trip and conference.

Have any tips on where we should go, what we should see or where to eat? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

Venice

Rag & bone Panama Hat 

Current/Elliot Slouchy Shorts

Splendid Chambray Shirt

Sole Society Crossbody Bag

T by Alexander Wang Grey Tank

Madewell Kana Gladiator

Quay Sunglasses 

Downtown

Aurelie Biderman Takayama Bracelet

Ella Moss Ailani Dress

Rebecca Minkoff Suki Bag

Dolce Vita Lyndon Gladiator

Halogen Cropped Leather Jacket

Illesteva Leonard Sunglasses

Beverly Hills

Madewell Tote

Uniqlo Eyelet Blouse

Haute Hippie Shorts

Dorothy Perkins Blush Blouse

Star Mela Tiki Clutch

Tory Burch Espadrille

Bangkok, Thailand

We left Vietnam in the late afternoon, after we had stuffed ourselves silly on our Hanoi Food Tour and flew to Bangkok next. The night we arrived we visited one of the night markets then got some rest so that we could be up early for exploring.  

Brooklyn Flea

A few weekends ago we finally made it to the Brooklyn Flea, a flea market in, you guessed it, Brooklyn, that I have been meaning to check our for awhile now. 

Sapa, Vietnam

We had heard about Sapa from a friend, who said it was well worth the trip from Hanoi. We were curious about what exactly the rice paddies would look like in person, since the photos we had seen on the internet looked incredible and we were definitely in for a surprise.

Halong Bay & Hanoi, Vietnam

Continuing on our journey from Beijing...

We landed in Hanoi, Vietnam late at night and went straight to our hotel to get some sleep. We stayed at the Hanoi Glance Hotel, which was right in the middle of the Old Quarter, the most bustling neighborhood of Hanoi. The next morning we were picked up by our tour company and transported via bus to the Halong Bay docks where we would board our boat for the next two nights.

Beijing - October 2015

After being home for a little over two months, we finally had time to amass all of our photos from our October trip to Asia. With 5 different cameras being used between the two of us, it was quite the task to just consolidate all the images. But here we are in January and I've put together some photos from our trip, organized by country - China, Vietnam and Thailand. So come along for the journey, first stop China!

Insiders NYC Holiday To-Do List 2015

View from our room at The Park Lane Hotel, last winter

Growing up not too far away from New York City, I have been up to visit many times around Christmas for a Broadway show, to check out the windows on 5th avenue and even to have holiday tea. I am very excited to be here for the whole month this year leading up to Christmas and soak in all the amazing-ness that is New York City filled with holiday spirit and as a real New Yorker!

New York City always has tons going on especially around the holiday season, problem is, everyone knows about the cliche places seems to also be there exactly when you are.

This year, I have compiled a list of my top To-Do's in NYC for the holidays. But what makes this list different, is that I have some new places for you guys to try that check off the same classic holiday NYC things but from a new perspective and with decidedly less chaos and tourists around.

Writing this post almost makes we wish it was winter already. Almost.

Marrakech, Morocco

 

Finally getting around to posting some of my pictures from my trip to Marrakech. The city was overflowing with color, sounds, smells and people. It was a beautiful place to visit and I hope to go back one day!

-E

Madrid, Spain

Madrid was my first stop in Spain and it was lovely. Lots of personality without the crazy hustle and bustle of a big city.

Lisbon, Portugal

I’ve finally caught up on life after my trip to be able to post some photos. My first stop was London to visit a college friend, then I made my way to Lisbon, Portugal to meet up with some business school friends.

Touristy DC

A few weekends ago I spent the day being a tourist in my own city of DC and what better way to explore a city than through a walking tour!